Scale Worshipers

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  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
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    People often say things like: just put the scale away.
    Don't worry about the numbers!

    But when you started as obese and are overweight the numbers DO matter... and they can only stop mattering when you've hit that blessed 'healthy' number... then it's easier to put it away (but not permanently. I think those of us who hit obese will always be concerned about gaining it back).
  • rlshopp6
    rlshopp6 Posts: 31 Member
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    I'm definitely obsessed with what it has to say each morning, as I think about it when I first open my eyes. Even as I type that, i cringe to myself because it shouldn't be the thing I think of first thing in the morning.

    I don't think it's necessarily bad to weigh each day, although I don't think it's good for me. Of course I'm excited when it goes down, even if only 0.2 lbs. But on the days when I worked really hard, ate exactly right (so I think) exercised at least 60 minutes, and it stays the same or horror, goes up, those are the days that mess with my head. I don't feel ready to get rid of it entirely, but I like having someone else hide it, and only weighing once a week, or getting to the point of weighing once a month or only at the dr's office.

    As a person moving away from the "obese" descriptor, it's hard to not be so focused on that as a symbol of my progress. But I want to move to thinking like a thin person would, and I don't know many thin people who weigh often, let alone daily.
  • lexidell46
    lexidell46 Posts: 143
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    I got rid of mine years ago. I have to go to a friends house( that is an hour away) or to the doctors office.Being obese all of my life, It was a love hate relationship. I loved to get on it but I hated the numbers.:mad: :bigsmile:
  • angie_sample
    angie_sample Posts: 190
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    i get obsessive about weigh myself. I would weigh myself multiple times a day, like magically im going to be down in just a couple of hours. I would get really depressed if it didnt change or if i gained. It got bad enough where my dietician made me take the scale to her and now i can only weigh in once a week and she has to be with me. My life was literally revolving around the scale. The first couple weeks of not weigh every day was hard but now i love it!! My weigh in day is exciting and since i got to check in everyday i seem to work harder. I think everyone is different, i have an addictive personality but for some people weigh in once a day works great. To each there own. :)
  • andrea9873
    andrea9873 Posts: 171 Member
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    "The scale can measure the weight of my body but never my worth as a woman." - Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave.
  • elijahgo1
    elijahgo1 Posts: 17
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    I just "allow" myself to weigh once a week. I used to do it every morning and would chase the number rather than my calories. This way, I know I will have lost weight at the end of the week. It is tempting...but rewarding. More so than just seeing an OZ off (or gained).
  • kitkatwag
    kitkatwag Posts: 84 Member
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    I agree with the comments about those of us who have been real large. At my highest I was 286 and never stepped on the scale. I go thru fazes where I have to see all the time even 2-3 times a day. I am in one now. I have yet to use a measuring tape, I keep telling myself that I should. I lost a significant amount of weight during my divorce in 2008 and could really see the difference. Now that I am again really focusing on it I NEED that scale to say something. I must go down. But I am concerned that it will not be enough as it continues to go down. I have a friend here on MFP that just posted about still pulling and tugging at her clothes even though she has lost 110# and looks fabulous. I noticed that I did that this morning so my shirt doesn't touch the fat too much. That's what I am concerned about loosing. The weight with or without my obsession will go down, but how does the mindset change? I thought I was fat in high school when I weighed 120# and wore a size 5. How do we change that part of the obsession? Will I be happy with my body when I get to that weight again? I am very afraid that I will not.
  • mon696
    mon696 Posts: 64 Member
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    I'm definitely obsessed with what it has to say each morning, as I think about it when I first open my eyes. Even as I type that, i cringe to myself because it shouldn't be the thing I think of first thing in the morning.

    I don't think it's necessarily bad to weigh each day, although I don't think it's good for me. Of course I'm excited when it goes down, even if only 0.2 lbs. But on the days when I worked really hard, ate exactly right (so I think) exercised at least 60 minutes, and it stays the same or horror, goes up, those are the days that mess with my head. I don't feel ready to get rid of it entirely, but I like having someone else hide it, and only weighing once a week, or getting to the point of weighing once a month or only at the dr's office.

    As a person moving away from the "obese" descriptor, it's hard to not be so focused on that as a symbol of my progress. But I want to move to thinking like a thin person would, and I don't know many thin people who weigh often, let alone daily.

    ^^^ I agree with everything you said
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    Have you logged all of your losses and gains? It can really give you some valuable insight about your body if you keep the emotion out. For instance, I found that I will lose a few pounds and stay down for a few days, but then gain 1/3 to half of that back and stay there for a week or two, but during that time, I lose inches, then I will lose a few pounds and then, well, you can probably figure the rest out.
  • CoffeeNBooze
    CoffeeNBooze Posts: 966 Member
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    The svale is like the friend you have that is sweet to you but try to sleep with your boyfriend behind you back.

    Only tool I use is a mesuring tape. It's the only one that can really tell me that I am getting fatter or not

    This! Measuring tape is more trustworthy. Perhaps all of us should be using that more?
  • kitkatwag
    kitkatwag Posts: 84 Member
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    "The scale can measure the weight of my body but never my worth as a woman." - Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave.

    Thanks so much for sharing this!
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    People often say things like: just put the scale away.
    Don't worry about the numbers!

    But when you started as obese and are overweight the numbers DO matter... and they can only stop mattering when you've hit that blessed 'healthy' number... then it's easier to put it away (but not permanently. I think those of us who hit obese will always be concerned about gaining it back).

    Yes, they certainly do matter, and not just if you're obese. They matter if you're sedentary, pregnant, getting older. If you don't know what your weight is ( and, one hopes, your body fat percentage, as well as many other indicia relating to health), you don't know what adjustments to make or if your diet and fitness plan is working.

    Unless you have a turbo-charged metabolism all your life and a very physical lifestyle your weight is something you have to measure. Maybe not every day, but certainly several times a month. I think that some people who have maintained weight loss or never gained a lot of weight have assimilated this to the point of it being almost second nature.
  • Sunshiny2
    Sunshiny2 Posts: 24 Member
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    I used to be a scale worshipper when I did fad diets that would work very quickly. It was satisfying then, but now that I'm losing weight the healthy way, it's MUCH slower so I can't stand to weigh myself too often or I'll get discouraged. I'm committed to weighing in only once a month. I put the scale away in the closet so it's not taunting me and it's been surprisingly easy to stay away from it. I do my measurements and body fat% weekly and that gives me a good idea of what's going on :)
  • fugaj01
    fugaj01 Posts: 171 Member
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    "The scale can measure the weight of my body but never my worth as a woman." - Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave.

    Love this!
  • applekoko19
    applekoko19 Posts: 85 Member
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    Love my scale... I weigh in every morning. Yesterday was a bad day and I overate but I weighed in this morning even though I didn't want to and I saw that I had hardly put on any weight. It gave me lots of encouragement for today to know that weightloss isn't as fickle as we fear it might be :D
  • Lissakaye81
    Lissakaye81 Posts: 224 Member
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    I weigh everyday, everytime I am in the bathroom. I only use my weigh in and measurements on Sundays. I also measure body fat, bmi, and use a tape for everything. I have been consistantly loosing so it has been a great motivator. I understand I can fluctuate by as much as 3lbs in a day. I am really happy that my weight is always under 200 now, even after eating and drinking all day.
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
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    Scales are lying *kitten*.

    I want to be smaller and fitter and IDGAF about what the scale says.

    Would you rather base your success on your pants size - or be gutted when you have some soy sauce and the scale says you're up in weight? Water weight is not fat weight - you're basing your success on something you have no control over. You do have control over body composition and fitness.

    p.s. I have upped my goal weight TWICE because I am much "thinner" at 137 now than I was at 125 before. I never hit my "goal" weight and I don't want to, so the argument that numbers matter until you hit your goal is invalid.
  • elishabeish
    elishabeish Posts: 175 Member
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    I think it's harder for us who have been larger/obese to let go of the number on the scale -- it defined our fitness level before, and we want it to define it now. I've slowly come to the realization that the lucky people who don't have weight issues aren't like that... they define their fitness level by their strength, endurance, and the mirror. I'm trying to transition toward the latter, but it's definitely hard!

    Congratulations on all of your progress so far. Keep it up :)

    and as penrbrown said
    People often say things like: just put the scale away.
    Don't worry about the numbers!

    But when you started as obese and are overweight the numbers DO matter... and they can only stop mattering when you've hit that blessed 'healthy' number... then it's easier to put it away (but not permanently. I think those of us who hit obese will always be concerned about gaining it back).

    I yet to get a tape, gonna have to get one and see if it will replace my scale like it did for others.
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
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    Allowing yourself to measure your own happiness and success by a number on the scale is really sad to me.
  • supermumincanada
    supermumincanada Posts: 59 Member
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    I think that's maybe the reason why I never did buy a set of scales for my house. Having 2 daughters ( don't think my sons would bother much) I didn't want them to weigh themselves every opportunity they had and I knew that I would given half a chance! I weigh myself once per week in the Boots store on a Tuesday and so far have managed to stick to that.

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